Miles trailed Tuskegee by one point at halftime on Saturday - the first time the Golden Bears have trailed at intermission since December - but in the end, it did not matter. 

The Golden Bears tightened the screws defensively, found enough offense, and won going away, downing the Golden Tigers 55-40 at Knox-Windham Gymnasium. The victory gave Miles (19-3, 13-1) the SIAC West Division crown for the third straight time and helped tie the school mark with a 13th consecutive triumph during a single season. The win also gave the Golden Bears a season sweep of the Golden Tigers (13-10, 9-5).

In recent weeks, teams have tried to slow the pace and become more physical against Miles, especially starting point guard Brandon Miller. But as has been the case with the others, the strategy ultimately did not work for the Golden Tigers. Miller, who leads the SIAC in assists, put on his scoring shoes in the second half. He scored 17 of his game-high 19 points as the Golden Bears took over.

Down by two early in the second half, Miles scored 10 straight points to take the lead for good. Truitt Spencer hit a 3-pointer, Miller scored the next five points before a fast break bucket by Mykayle Carter (11 points, four rebounds) gave the Golden Bears a 30-22 lead less than three minutes into the half. Tuskegee cut its deficit back to two points but Miles went on another 10-0 jaunt to take control. Miller started the run with a 3-ball. After he assisted on a Patrick Rucker jumper, he got a steal and was on his way for a breakaway bucket before he was fouled hard. The officials called a flagrant foul and Miller knocked down both free throws. On the ensuing possession, he drained another 3-pointer to give Miles a 40-28 advantage just four minutes later.

That was plenty of operating room for the nation's top defensive team. Miles leads Division II in scoring defense and defensive field goal percentage and Tuskegee saw exactly why. The Golden Tigers scored just 19 points in the second half and shot a shade under 35 percent from the field for the game against a Golden Bears team that holds opponents to 36 percent shooting on the season and made Tuskegee the fifth straight team that failed to reach the 50-point plateau.

Devin Booker scored 15 points as the lone double-digit scorer for Tuskegee. Joel Logan added eight points and eight rebounds for Miles, which hosts Spring Hill on Monday. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.